State Department piles misdirection on Benghazi misdirection

There was always a whiff of misdirection in connection with the story that four State Department officials at or below the Assistant Secretary level would lose their jobs over the Benghazi killings. After all, it is highly likely that officials further up the chain knew of the dangerous situation in Benghazi and, quite possibly, of the requests for additional security there. Thus, there was reason to suspect that the State Department was using the lower level officials to erect a “firewall” to protect the “higher ups.”

But according to the New York Post, the misdirection goes deeper because the four officials who reportedly were ousted actually will remain at the State Department:

The highest-ranking official caught up in the scandal, Assistant Secretary of State Eric Boswell, has not “resigned” from government service, as officials said last week. He is just switching desks. And the other three are simply on administrative leave and are expected back.

The four were made out to be sacrificial lambs in the wake of a scathing report issued last week that found that the US compound in Benghazi, Libya, was left vulnerable to attack because of “grossly inadequate” security.

State Department leaders “didn’t come clean about Benghazi and now they’re not coming clean about these staff changes,” a source close to the situation told The Post, adding, the “public would be outraged over this.”

Actually, I’m not sure that there will be much public outrage. But Republicans on the Hill won’t be amused.

Hillary Clinton will have more explaining to do if she’s ever healthy enough to testify before Congress.